Daniel Podence was something of a surprise inclusion in Wolves’ pre-season trip to Marbella – and now there is word on how he has looked so far.
Podence spent last season on loan at Greek giants Olympiacos, after Wolves could not find a buyer for the winger.
The plan had been to offload Podence, with Gary O’Neil admitting at the time that the club and player’s ambitions were not aligned.
Podence would seal a loan move to his former club Olympiacos – and he fared very well indeed.
He made 47 appearances across all competitions, and scored 15 goals and made 13 assists.
Towards the end of his spell, he spoke of his happiness at the club, and there have been several reports about Olympiacos wanting to re-sign him. Podence did also suggest that he did not feel wanted by Wolves last summer.
But Podence is out there in Marbella now with the Wolves squad – and Liam Keen and Nathan Judah gave an update on how he’s looked this morning.
Daniel Podence looks ‘sharp’, ‘confident’ and ‘happy’ in Wolves pre-season training
Some had not really expected Podence to be a part of Wolves’ pre-season, given all the reports about him and also his comments.
Neither Goncalo Guedes nor Fabio Silva have flown out to Marbella, with the duo free to try and facilitate their exits from the club.
Clearly, Wolves are happy to keep players away from the group that are seemingly not in the manager’s plans. So it is interesting that Podence is out there with the rest of the squad.
Journalists Liam Keen and Nathan Judah have been observing the players at their training base and have been casting their eyes over Podence. And he appears to be in fine fettle.
Keen said (via E&S): “He’s looked sharp. Really sharp. He’s working hard on the pitch as well as actually showing off a little bit.
“Cutting inside, his finishing’s superb. Tight spaces, little tricks here and there. He looks confident and he looks happy when you watch him play but I have to say we’ve seen things off the pitch with him that would suggest otherwise.
“If there’s a change in his attitude to it, there’s a chance (he could stay). But it also depends on what Gary O’Neil wants.”
Podence situation could be one to watch
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Keen makes it clear that he still feels Podence’s future lies away from Wolves.
But O’Neil not keeping him away, like he has done with Guedes and Silva, does potentially suggest that he is open to reintegrating the player.
It would obviously just be a case of Podence indicating that he’s all in at Wolves. But whether he’ll do that remains to be seen, given his previous comments. The line from Keen about Podence perhaps not looking happy away from the pitch also casts doubt on his return.
It is not a question of ability with Podence. He is perhaps the most naturally talented player Wolves own, and when he is on song, he can create something out of nothing.
We have seen him make some important contributions for Wolves over the years, so it would be really interesting if the situation did change and he became an option again for next season.